The towns of Prescott Valley, 7 miles (11 km) east; Chino Valley, 16 miles (26 km) north; Dewey-Humboldt, 13 miles (21 km) east, and Prescott, together comprise what is locally known as the "Quad-City" area. This also sometimes refers to central Yavapai County in general, which would include the towns of: Mayer, Paulden, Wilhoit, and Williamson Valley. Combined with these smaller communities the area had a population of 103,260 as of 2007. Prescott is the center of the Prescott Metropolitan Area, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as all of Yavapai County. In 2010 Yavapai County had 211,073 residents according to the United States Census Bureau, making Metro Prescott the third-largest metropolitan area in Arizona, after Phoenix (4.2 million) and Tucson (1 million). Metro Prescott will eventually[citation needed] become part of the Arizona Sun Corridormegaregion, with a total estimated megapolitan population of 7.4 million people in 2025.

Arizona Territorial Governor John Noble Goodwin selected the original site of Prescott following his first tour of the new territory. Goodwin replaced Governor John A. Gurley, appointed by Abraham Lincoln, who died before taking office. Downtown streets in Prescott are named in honor of each of them. Goodwin selected a site 20 miles (32 km) south of the temporary capital on the east side of Granite Creek near a number of mining camps. The territorial capital was later moved to the new site along with Fort Whipple, with the new town named in honor of historian William H. Prescott during a public meeting on May 30, 1864.[4] Robert W. Groom surveyed the new community, and an initial auction sold 73 lots on June 4, 1864. By July 4, 1864, a total of 232 lots had been sold within the new community.[5] Prescott was officially incorporated in 1883.

The Sharlot Hall Museum houses much of Prescott's territorial history, and the Smoki and Phippen museums also maintain local collections. Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott boasts many historic buildings, including The Palace, Arizona's oldest restaurant and bar, and many other buildings that have been converted to boutiques, art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants. Prescott is home to the Arizona Pioneers' Home and Hospital for Disabled Miners. The Home opened during territorial days, February 1, 1911. The city was named after author William H. Prescott, whose writings were popular during the Civil War.

Prescott also has a place in western folklore with the fact that Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp's older brother, lived in Prescott in 1879 and told him of the boom town in Tombstone, Arizona. It is also rumored that Doc Holliday spent some time in Prescott just before heading to Tombstone.[9]

After several major fires in the early part of the century, downtown Prescott was rebuilt with brick. The central courthouseplaza, a lawn under huge old elm trees, is a gathering and meeting place. Cultural events and performances take place on many nights in the summer on the plaza.

Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee for president, launched his presidential campaign from the steps of Prescott's Yavapai County Courthouse.

Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, part of the Prescott Fire Department, lost their lives Sunday, June 30, 2013 while battling the Yarnell Hill fire that ignited two days earlier south of Prescott.

Prescott is located in the Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona, at an altitude of 5,400 feet (1,600 m). The city has what is classified under the Köppen climatic classification as a Mediterranean climate (Csa) owing to its relatively high rainfall and dry early summer period, with mild to cool winters and warm to hot summers.[10] Average annual precipitation for 1981–2010 is 17.75 inches (451 mm), with spring and early summer the driest times of the year.[11][12] Snowfall is typically light and snow cover usually melts away quickly; the 1981–2011 average seasonal total is 12.8 inches (33 cm). Despite the Csa classification, the largest portion of precipitation falls during the July–September monsoon season. Average daytime temperatures remain above 50 °F (10 °C) the entire year, but diurnal temperature variation is large throughout the year, averaging nearly 30 °F (17 °C) annually.[11][12] On average, temperatures reach 90 °F (32 °C) on 36 days annually, though 100 °F (38 °C)+ readings are uncommon and do not occur every year, much unlike the Sonoran Desert to the south and Mojave Desert to the west. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 21 thru May 1.[citation needed]

There was a severe drought from 1999 to 2009, seen from the lack of snowpack in the Bradshaw Mountains. Local creeks do not contain water except immediately after the rare rains. Nevertheless, at the start of 2007 lakes were reported as full. The winter of 2005–06 had less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) of snow, compared to an average snowfall of 22 inches (56 cm).[13]

There were 15,098 households out of which 18.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.62.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,446, and the median income for a family was $46,481. Males had a median income of $31,834 versus $22,982 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,565. About 7.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Prescott is home to the downtown historical area known as Whiskey Row, until 1956 a notorious red-light district[citation needed]. In 1900, a great fire destroyed almost all of the buildings on Whiskey Row, including the 1891 Hotel Burke, advertised as "the only absolutely fireproof building in Prescott".[15] By legend, the patrons of the various bars simply took their drinks across the street to the Courthouse square and watched it burn. At the time of the fire, the entire bar and back-bar of the Palace Hotel was removed to the square by the patrons as the fire approached, re-installing it after the gutted brick structure was rebuilt. (The size of the back-bar is impressive, and appears not easily moved, even by many hands.) Whiskey Row runs north and south on Montezuma St. between Gurley and Goodwin St., directly west of the county courthouse. This single city block has been the home of the St. Michael's Hotel (formerly the Hotel Burke) and the Palace Hotel since the late 19th century, along with other colorful purveyors of night-life. Merchant Sam Hill's large hardware store was located near Whiskey Row.[16]

There are four golf courses within the city limits: Antelope Hills Golf Course, which consist of the City of Prescott South Course and the City of Prescott North Course, Hassayampa Golf Club (private), Talking Rock Golf Club (private), and Prescott Lakes Golf Club (private). More public courses are located nearby in surrounding towns.[17]

Prescott is home to The Arizona Pioneers' Home, a continuing care retirement home, operated and funded by the State of Arizona, originally intended for impoverished Arizona founders from Territorial days. Initially the home was built to house 40 men, but in 1916 an addition of a women’s wing was completed to provide for 20 women. Later, in 1929, the home again expanded to include Arizona’s Hospital for Disabled Miners (current total capacity is 150 beds). Scenes from the 2008 movie Jolene were filmed in the Pioneer's Home in 2006. The Home has had many colorful residents, including a John Miller, who had claimed to be Billy the Kid, and who was exhumed from the Pioneer's Home Cemetery in 2005 in an attempt to identify DNA evidence. Another resident was "Big Nose Kate" Elder, who would also be laid to rest in the Pioneer's Home Cemetery, though not without controversy.

While Prescott is known for its western and cowboy feel, it is also the home of Prescott College, a small liberal arts college located just west of the downtown area that emphasizes environmental and social justice. In recent years Prescott College has fostered The Catalyst Infoshop (an Anarchist Free Space), Karma Farms (a community garden program), a local farmers market, as well as many other establishments. It is a non-profit organization which has an undergraduate body of roughly 800 students, and an average student to faculty ratio of 7:1 in on-campus classrooms.[18] There are four general programs at Prescott College: the On-campus Undergraduate Program (RDP), Limited-Residency Undergraduate Degree Program (ADP), the Limited-Residency Master of Arts Program (MAP), and a Limited-Residency PhD program in Sustainability Education.[19] Those enrolled in the Limited-Residency programs work with various mentors and Prescott College faculty, usually in their home communities. On-campus students live in Prescott and attend classes at the college itself.

In recent years, Prescott has become a recovery destination for uncounted thousands. At any given time, some 1,200 people are actively in addiction recovery in Prescott. Prescott is among the nation's top locations for recovery help and a significant industry has grown up around the effort to help folks make an addiction-free life for themselves. Prescott is home to many recovery and rehab centers,[20] a newly-minted detoxification clinic and an amorphous community of dozens of halfway houses and sober living homes. There are more than 150 group homes providing housing for those in recovery programs.[21] Current studies show Prescott as having 7.3 counselors per 10,000 people earning the unofficial title of Arizona's Recovery City.[22]

Prescott hosts annual events such as Frontier Days, The World's Oldest Rodeo (1888) (featured in the 1972 film Junior Bonner), Easter Egg-Stravaganza, the Bluegrass Festival, Earth Day, July 4 Celebration, Tsunami on the Square, art festivals, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, Navajo Rug Auction, Pumpkin Patch Carnival, World’s Largest Gingerbread Village at the Prescott Resort & Conference center (located on the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation), Prescott Film Festival, Folk Arts Fair, parades, the Acker Music Festival, The Cowboy Poets Gathering, the Prescott Highland Games, Courthouse Lighting, Whiskey Off Road and Ragnar Relay Del Sol. On New Year’s Eve, historic Whiskey Row saw the inaugural Prescott Boot Drop to usher in the 2012 New Year. The illuminated 6-foot (1.8 m) tall cowboy boot with multi-colored stars was lowered from the historic Palace Restaurant rooftop’s 40-foot (12 m) flagpole to the delight and cheers of celebrants gathered on Montezuma Street which was closed for the occasion. Also located in Prescott is the Heritage Park Zoo.

Prescott was the location of Arizona's first Elks Lodge (BPOE). In December 1895 a group of enterprising businessmen in Prescott, sturdy products of the early west, charted the original petition for a dispensation and later established the Prescott Elks Lodge #330. "Mother Lodge of Arizona" The Prescott Elks Opera House was built by the lodge in 1905. The Prescott Elks Lodge now located in Prescott Valley and has served the community for over 116 years.

Prescott has been home to several nationally known punk bands, including Bueno, Life in Pictures, and Hour of the Wolf. Punk shows are hosted around Prescott in all ages venues such as Sam Hill Warehouse and Club 209, and local bars such as Sundance's. Local bands often play shows alongside national bands, who include Prescott in their tours.

2000. Downtown Historic Preservation District (which includes "Whiskey Row") —one of 12 such National Register Historic Districts within the City.

2004. A “Preserve American Community”[23] in 2004 by First Lady Laura Bush.

2006. One of a “Dozen Distinctive Destinations”[24] by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

2008. Yavapai Courthouse Plaza recognized as one of the first ten “Great Public Places”[25] in America by the American Planning Association. The plaza enjoys the select company of such iconic places as New York City’s Central Park and Santa Monica Beach in California. The historic courthouse stands in an oasis of green grass in a gothic cathedral of 170+ trees including 127 American elms. More than 130 activities occur annually including arts and crafts shows, concerts, dancing, outdoor movies, and other special events. People are always seen on the plaza. Walking (3 laps = 1 mile) around the plaza is quite popular with the locals.

The City of Prescott operates under a council-manager form of government. The council has six council members and a Mayor, all elected at-large by the people of Prescott. Council members are elected to staggered four-year terms, and the Mayor to a two-year term. Elections for Mayor and council members are held in the first year after the national presidential and mid-term elections to keep national issues from overshadowing local concerns. Mayoral and council elections are non-partisan. There are no term limits for council members or the Mayor. The council appoints a professional city manager to oversee the daily administrative operations of city services and their respective departments, including the Prescott Fire Department. The current city manager is Craig McConnell. The current Mayor is Marlin Kuykendall, re-elected in 2011. Council members elected in 2011 are Jim Lamerson, Charlie Arnold, and Chris Kuknyo. Council members elected in 2013 are Greg Lazzell, Jean Wilcox, and Steve Blair.[28]

High Schools in PrescottPrescott Unified School District operates public schools. There are 20 public schools, including five charter schools, in grades K-12 and four private schools in Prescott.[29][29]

The city has a municipal airport, Ernest A. Love Field, seven miles (11 km) north of the downtown courthouse. Local public transit is handled by the Prescott Citibus.[30] The two main thoroughfares in and around Prescott are Arizona State Route 69 and Arizona State Route 89. Route 69 connects Prescott with Prescott Valley to the east, eventually curving southeast before reaching Interstate 17 at mile marker 262, about 65 miles (105 km) from downtown Phoenix. Route 89 travels mostly north–south and connects Prescott with Chino Valley and Paulden to the north, continuing northward until it joins Interstate 40 at mile marker 146, Ash Fork.

^Prescott Area Geological Field Guide, 1999, prepared for Earth Science Week. Copy available at Yavapai College library.

^A volunteer docent statement from the free official downtown Prescott guided historical and architectural tour claims this is the origin of the phrase, "Where in the Sam Hill did you get that?". This may not be accurate, since "Sam Hill" is also a euphemistic reference to Hell predating Prescott, being a polite way of saying "Where in the Hell did you get that?". However, there was indeed a Sam Hill Hardware store, attested to by the bronze letters embedded in the concrete sidewalk spelling out "SAM HILL" inset in the sidewalk at each boundary of the property.